Tom Petty To Release Epic Box Set The Live Archives

Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers have have announced the first details of an epic box set that will begin to clear out the archives of Heartbreaker live footage recorded and filmed from throughout the band's career.

No release date has been announced for The Live Archives, but an ambitious series of packages have been announced. The recording industry should pay attention to this because it's obvious Petty and his management team are. There is a package available for every kind of Petty listener. The live archive will be made available through iTunes and other digital outlets (presumably Amazon's digital music store). There will also be physical and digital experiences for every kind of fan.

CD fans can treat themselves to a 4-CD, 48-track box set. The hardcore can go with a multimedia deluxe box set that will include 5 CDs (62 tracks), 2 DVDs, 1 vinyl LP, and a Blu-ray audio DVD. Vinyl fans can get a 7-LP box and digital fans can order the set through Petty's web site and get the "The Superhighway Tour." The "Superhighway" set will allow fans to download MP3 or FLAC (lossless) audio files. They'll even get a headstart on this archival material, being allowed to download some of the set early.

Okay, so we get it. There's a lot of "stuff." What is the stuff? We only get some hints right now. The material us drawn from 1978-2007 and was chosen by Petty, longtime aide-de-camp Mike Campbell, and producer Ryan Ulyate. There are plenty of Heartbreaker classics as well as some covers that have been part of the band's shows throughout the years. Among them the theme from Goldfinger, The Zombies' "I Want You Back Again," James Brown's "Good, Good Lovin'," and Fleetwood Mac's "Oh Well."

Here are full details on the packages. Stay tuned at Blogcritics to for more details as they're announced.

Package 1 The Live Anthology

4-CD, 48 tracks

Package 2: The Live Anthology Deluxe

5-CD, 62 tracks

2 previously unreleased DVDs:

1978 New Year's Eve show in Santa Monica

Martyn Atkins' documentary 400 Days shot, during the recording and tour for Wildflowers

A re-mastered vinyl of the 1976 Official Live Leg' Bootleg

A Blu-ray Audio disc featuring all 62 tracks in both stereo and 5.1 – 256x more audio resolution than a CD

Package 3: The Live Anthology, Vinyl

A 7-LP vinyl box set from the uncompressed 24-bit 96k files pressed on high-quality vinyl

Package 4: The "Superhighway Tour"

48 tracks in MP3 and FLAC from The Live Anthology delivered digitally

24 advance tracks, from 17 shows, over 8 weeks – all delivered prior to the release ofThe Live Anthology. The remaining 24 tracks will be delivered on the album’s street date.

The first 24 tracks include an insider’s online experience, including new band commentary, archival memorabilia, vintage photos, videos, classic reviews from the shows, and even more vintage material.